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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. court — of a king
  5. cold — not warm
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. stand — to bear
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. perch — the fish
  14. court — for sport
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. cold — an illness
  22. court — of law
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com